QA1 recently opened its facility to the public for its seventh annual open house event.

The two-hour event brings enthusiasts together for an intimate gathering before the #goDRIVEit Cruise to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for the Street Machine Nationals in St. Paul.

Approximately 200 people toured QA1’s Lakeville, Minnesota, facility, gaining an inside look at daily operations, new machinery and products, and manufacturing processes such as carbon fiber winding for driveshafts and the welding of tubular components.

Games were also played, giving attendees the opportunity to win a variety of QA1 prizes, from aluminum signs and pint glasses to $2,500 in QA1 cash gift certificates and more.

Ride of the Year was given to Marshall Holt of Lakeville, who brought his 1930 Willys Whippet Coupe built from an old circle track chassis with a custom-made body.

After the event, approximately 100 cars cruised to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, where participants gained VIP preferred entrance to the Street Machine Nationals. QA1 sponsored the autocross portion of the event, where a range of muscle cars and trucks collectively ran nearly 1,000 passes throughout the weekend.    

Racer registration has now opened online for the next month’s Lucerna Hotels & Resorts Tijuana 22nd SCORE Desert Challenge. Registration for Round 3 of this year’s four-race SCORE World Desert Championship is being accepted on the SCORE website at SCOREInternational.com. Race dates and race-week festivities will take place September 20–23.

Moving to the largest city on the Baja California peninsula last year, this race will again utilize a special-split format two-lap event.

The unique-format race will be held at a spectator-friendly start/finish line and ‘hot pit’ area located on the southeast outskirts of Tijuana at the popular Rancho Casian off of Boulevard 2000 (Highway No. 201) at Km 22.

The event features two days of racing scored as one race. SCORE Race Director Jose Grijalva has put together a 68-mile loop course through the challenging hills in the area that each class will run a total of two laps over for 136 total race miles.

In the elapsed-time race with a three-hour time limit each day, starting at 7 a.m. PT each day, motorcycles, quads and several car classes will race their two sessions first on Saturday and second half on Sunday.

The other car and truck classes, including the marquee SCORE Trophy Truck and SCORE TT Legend divisions will run the first half of their race (one lap) on Saturday afternoon and the final half (one lap) on Sunday afternoon.

Celebrating its 25th year as the featured SCORE racing division for high-tech, 950 horsepower unlimited trucks, SCORE Trophy Trucks, the post-race awards celebration will be held in the start/finish line area on Sunday (September 23), starting at 6:30 p.m. PT.

The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded $297,000 to 102 individuals this year, including scholarships for current students and loan-forgiveness awards to employees of SEMA-member companies.

“This year’s pool of scholarship winners represents the diversity of interests and disciplines that the automotive industry attracts,” said SEMA Board of Directors Chairman Wade Kawasaki. “SEMA is committed to offering support to the next generation of young men and women that will drive this industry for years to come.”

More than $2.5 million has been awarded to over 1,400 deserving students since the program’s establishment in 1984. The SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund and the SEMA Loan Forgiveness Program are dedicated to fostering the next generation of automotive aftermarket industry leaders and innovators by helping them get off to a successful start in their education and automotive aftermarket careers.

Online applications for next year’s awards will be accepted Nov. 1, 2018, through March 1, 2019, at sema.org/scholarships.

For questions or additional information, contact SEMA Student Programs Manager Juliet Marshall at 909/978-6655 or julietm@SEMA.org.

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship and Modis have revealed the first-ever Modis Formula E Innovation Manager, Barnee Lloyd, who will join the electric street racing series on a six-month internship ahead of the upcoming season.

Modis, the official partner for professional solutions in IT and engineering, launched the global search for aspiring innovators to join Formula E in May earlier this year. The Innovation Manager Challenge drew nearly 2,000 applications from over 60 countries with the ambition of helping implement and deliver a brand-new software platform for the opening round of season five under the experienced mentorship of Formula E Head of Technology Eric Ernst.

The competition consisted of a demanding four-stage selection process that involved psychometric tests on a dedicated Modis online platform, face-to-face interviews with Modis consultants and complex problem-solving.

The top-five candidates were met by a panel of experts at Formula E’s headquarters in London for the interview stage and were put through their paces in a range of exercises. The candidates were given scenarios designed to measure logical thinking, behavioral traits and numerical aptitude.

Lloyd, a British software engineer and Cambridge University graduate who has previously worked for other automotive brands such as Tesla and Aston Martin, received top scores in the combined ‘innovator profile’ and ‘aptitude’ test.

The 25-year-old will begin his internship on September 17, in the technology department and will be fully-immersed within the series and collaborate with regional workforces for a hands-on experience at events, including pre-season testing and the opening rounds of the 2018-2019 ABB FIA Formula E Championship in December and January.

NASCAR is taking six cars to the wind tunnel this week to study data that will be provided to the series’ three manufacturers and to conduct engine audits.

The testing comes after Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway which featured a win by Kevin Harvick. Incidentally, Harvick was unable to celebrate the victory with a burnout because of the testing.

The sanctioning body selected two cars from each manufacturer; Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford of Brad Keselowski; the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon and No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott; and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch and No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Denny Hamlin.

“We try to find a track obviously where aero’s going to play a bigger role, so we took six cars – two from each OEM – and they’ll be in the wind tunnel,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said on SiriusXM Monday morning. “And our process is to share (data) that with the OEMs and the race teams. It’s a good barometer for us for two things — to make sure we’re still in that box set for the current year and probably most importantly, we look to lock in 2019, that the baseline that we’re using matches up with all the data that we have in the system.

“So, it’s a good check on both for not only ’18, but future race packages as well.”

NASCAR also took six cars into the wind tunnel after the race at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Elliott, Harvick and Busch were also included in that selection, along with Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano and Erik Jones.

Mazda Motorsports and Penske Racing Shocks have teamed up to produce a new, spec shock package to enhance the Spec Miata (SM) racing experience in the coming seasons of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA).

Both NASA and SCCA have approved the new Penske shock for SM competition beginning Jan. 1, 2019. It is anticipated the new shocks will be available starting November 2018 through Mazda Motorsports, although they will not be immediately required for NASA or SCCA competition. Both sanctioning bodies will communicate with competitors at a later date regarding a sunset timeline for the shock package currently in use.

Several race-engineered shocks were tested in a recent dry- and wet-weather session at Carolina Motorsports Park.

Results show the new Penske shocks to be similar in qualifying lap times compared with shocks currently used by the SM field. But on overall pace, particularly starting on the fifth lap, the Penske product was said to have shown “brilliance.” And on 30-minute to hour-long runs, where the current spec’s lap times slowed by three-plus seconds on the high-wear track surface, the Penskes never fell off to even two seconds compared to qualifying lap times. An in-depth look at the test findings is available at the Mazda Motorsports website.

Josh Smith, Mazda Motorsports Technical Specialist, noted that the “street shock” currently used in SM is not entirely ideal for racing. The off-the-shelf shock, while cost-effective, was not initially designed to handle the spring rate on race cars and sometimes has trouble “dampening” movement. This causes the suspension to bottom out, which impacts wear-and-tear on other components of the car, including tires, hubs, bearings and subframes.

(Photo courtesy of Mazda Motorsports).

The Detroit Grand Prix and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have reached an agreement for the annual motorsports festival to continue on Belle Isle for at least three more years.

With the new agreement in place, event officials confirmed the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear will return May 31-June 2, 2019, on Belle Isle, with its customary date the weekend following Memorial Day to start the summer season in the Motor City.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Grand Prix will return to its home on Belle Isle for three more years beginning in 2019, with an option for extending the agreement two additional years through 2023.

The previous agreement to host the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle concluded with the 2018 race, but after public feedback, officials consulted with stakeholders and submitted a proposal on July 13, to the MSNR to continue the event. After adjustments were made, an agreement was reached last week.

As a result of the feedback received from the public, the MDNR and the Belle Isle Park Advisory Committee, the Grand Prix has made some key changes. The event will further reduce its overall build out and post-event take-down time on the island to just 60 days in 2019 and 59 days in 2020 and 2021. This represents a reduction of five days from the total time spent on the island in 2018 and a 35-day reduction from 2015.

The Grand Prix will also increase its annual total contribution for hosting the event on Belle Isle from $200,000 to $450,000 for each year of the new agreement. This includes an annual $325,000 event fee and a contribution of $125,000 annually to be used by the MDNR for specific projects on Belle Isle.

The Grand Prix will also continue to host the Grand Prixmiere fundraising event on Friday night of event weekend over the course of the new agreement. The Grand Prixmiere has raised more than $4 million for the Belle Isle Conservancy over the last five years with the funds dedicated to improvements on the island.

More details on the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear will be announced in the coming weeks, including when tickets will go on sale for the 2019 event.

(Photo courtesy of IMSA).

Longtime aftermarket industry executive Joe Pomaranski has established a consulting firm to serve suppliers and distribution partners targeting increased revenue and improved earnings.

Based in Plymouth, Michigan, Pomaranski Consulting is already working with clients in a wide range of practice areas, including go-to-market strategy development, channel partner strategies, sales process optimization, marketing programs, product management, and executive coaching and mentoring.

Pomaranski retired in January from Tenneco, where he was senior vice president and general manager, global aftermarket.

In addition to nearly 20 years with Tenneco, Pomaranski served in a variety of increasingly responsible roles over an 11-year period with Federal-Mogul. He also worked at Cooper Automotive, and began his career, in 1978, as a sales representative for Champion Spark Plug Co.

“Aftermarket manufacturers and distributors are being challenged to rethink even their most deeply embedded business practices,” Pomaranski said. “While quality products and strong brands remain vital, they must be complemented by comprehensive, highly strategic business models that benefit all customers while protecting and strengthening bottom-line performance. That’s our focus in serving clients.”

Pomaranski Consulting can be reached at 734/751-0016 or joe@pomaftermarket.com.

QA1 is now eligible to compete for federal contracts after completing a thorough and rigorous vetting process to receive the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program Certification through the Small Business Administration.

QA1 first received national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Development Center – Midwest, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). WBENC’s national standard of certification is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection.

The process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women. QA1’s president and majority shareholders are women and attaining this certification required proving that they were involved in both day-to-day management and long-term decisions. After receiving WBE certification, they were eligible for and achieved WOSB status.

“The opportunities this certification will provide are great for QA1 employees and the organization,” QA1 President Melissa Scoles said. “This certification will open the door to opportunities we may not have previously had.”

Government agencies reserve contracts for small businesses that are certified in the SBA’s various contracting programs, including the WOSB Program. These contracts are for industries where women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) are underrepresented. QA1 has been certified for the industries in NAICS code 336330, Motor Vehicle Steering and Suspension Components (except Spring) Manufacturing.

Brake Parts Inc (BPI) has expanded its Eastern distribution center in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, by more than 200,000 square feet to meet the growing customer demand across all of its BPI product categories.

The Hazelton Eastern distribution center will service all BPI East Coast customers, including private label and customers of the flagship Raybestos brand, providing them with timely and accurate order fill rates, BPI says.

The company made significant investments in its state-of-the-art Oracle and warehouse management systems (WMS) throughout its entire distribution system. The system delivers full visibility to various stages of the distribution process, enhances the customer experience by providing access to up-to-the-minute inventory levels, optimizes turn times and supports a 24- to 48-hour order fill time, according to a company release.

“With the rapid double-digit growth of our Eastern U.S. customer base, we are pleased to announce that we have completed construction and have installed the racking in our Hazelton distribution center. We are nearly complete with the move-in process and will continue to provide the world-class service and industry-leading fill rates that customers expect from Brake Parts Inc,” BPI President and CEO David Overbeeke said.

The 568,000 square foot facility has 160 full-time employees that achieved a 95 percent fill rate performance in 2017, according to the company.